Liner Notes
Cat. No. 80429
Release Date: 1993-01-01
Jacquelyn Helin, piano
Virgil Thomson's piano music can best be described as pure direct American plainsong. Hymn tunes get transposed, rhythms overturn or collide, often with comic results; cowboy songs turn into fugues. Thomson made use of all materials, from Sunday School ditties he learned as a child in Kansas City, to the tangos he heard in Paris in the Twenties, to the counterpoint of his formal musical education.
Thomson's portraits often have the feeling of line drawings by a visual artist. This is because he did them "from life", in the presence of the sitter. He was inspired by the idea of depicting character through the use of music. In Thomson's words, "in all my portraits only the sitter's presence is portrayed, not his appearance or his profession."
Jacquelyn Helin is particularly identified with the music of Virgil Thomson, with whom she worked closely. She was a featured artist in the nationally television PBS special honoring Thomson on his ninetieth birthday, and has premiered and recorded many of Thomson's works to high critical praise.
Virgil Thomson's piano music can best be described as pure direct American plainsong. Hymn tunes get transposed, rhythms overturn or collide, often with comic results; cowboy songs turn into fugues. Thomson made use of all materials, from Sunday School ditties he learned as a child in Kansas City, to the tangos he heard in Paris in the Twenties, to the counterpoint of his formal musical education.
Thomson's portraits often have the feeling of line drawings by a visual artist. This is because he did them "from life", in the presence of the sitter. He was inspired by the idea of depicting character through the use of music. In Thomson's words, "in all my portraits only the sitter's presence is portrayed, not his appearance or his profession."
Jacquelyn Helin is particularly identified with the music of Virgil Thomson, with whom she worked closely. She was a featured artist in the nationally television PBS special honoring Thomson on his ninetieth birthday, and has premiered and recorded many of Thomson's works to high critical praise.
Virgil Thomson: Portraits
| MP3/320 | $16.00 | |
| WAV | $16.00 | |
| CD | $25.00 |
Track Listing
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Nine Portraits for piano: Madame Dubost chez elle
Virgil Thomson
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Nine Portraits for piano: Russell Hitchcock, Reading
Virgil Thomson
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Nine Portraits for piano: Ettie Stettheimer
Virgil Thomson
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Nine Portraits for piano: Helen Austin at Home and Abroad
Virgil Thomson
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Nine Portraits for piano: A French Boy of Ten - Louis Lange
Virgil Thomson
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Nine Portraits for piano: Pastoral - A Portrait of Tristan Tzara
Virgil Thomson
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Nine Portraits for piano: Awake or Asleep - Pierre Mabille
Virgil Thomson
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Nine Portraits for piano: Prisoner of the Mind - Schuyler Watts
Virgil Thomson
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Nine Portraits for piano: For Eugene Ormandy's Birthday, 18 November 1969 A Study in Stacked-Up Thirds
Virgil Thomson
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Parson Weems and the Cherry Tree: I. The Parson Writes His Book
Virgil Thomson
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Parson Weems and the Cherry Tree: II. The Parson Instructs George & Martha in the Gentle Art of the Dance
Virgil Thomson
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Parson Weems and the Cherry Tree: III. The Hatchet
Virgil Thomson
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Parson Weems and the Cherry Tree: IV. The Pitcher and the Bucket
Virgil Thomson
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Parson Weems and the Cherry Tree: V. Rum is a Demon
Virgil Thomson
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Parson Weems and the Cherry Tree: VI. Martha's Secret Love
Virgil Thomson
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Parson Weems and the Cherry Tree: VII. Molly Whips the Army into Shape
Virgil Thomson
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Parson Weems and the Cherry Tree: VIII. Crossing the Delaware
Virgil Thomson
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Parson Weems and the Cherry Tree: IX. Hard Times at Valley Forge
Virgil Thomson
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Parson Weems and the Cherry Tree: X. On to Glory
Virgil Thomson
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Parson Weems and the Cherry Tree: XI. Cavalry Manoeuvers
Virgil Thomson
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Parson Weems and the Cherry Tree: XII. Chopping the Tree and Winging to Heaven
Virgil Thomson
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Five 2-Part Inventions: With marked rhythm
Virgil Thomson
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Five 2-Part Inventions: Freely
Virgil Thomson
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Five 2-Part Inventions: Flowing
Virgil Thomson
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Five 2-Part Inventions: Rhythmically
Virgil Thomson
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Five 2-Part Inventions: Firmly
Virgil Thomson
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Seventeen Portraits for piano: Molly Davies - Terminations
Virgil Thomson
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Seventeen Portraits for piano: Dennis Russell Davies - In a Hammock
Virgil Thomson
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Seventeen Portraits for piano: Rodney Lister - Music for a Merry-go-round
Virgil Thomson
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Seventeen Portraits for piano: Doña Flor - Receiving
Virgil Thomson
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Seventeen Portraits for piano: Dr. Marcel Roche - Making a Decision
Virgil Thomson
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Seventeen Portraits for piano: David Dubal - In Flight
Virgil Thomson
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Seventeen Portraits for piano: Peter McWilliams - Firmly Spontaneous
Virgil Thomson
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Seventeen Portraits for piano: Vassilis Voglis - On the March
Virgil Thomson
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Seventeen Portraits for piano: Power Boothe - With Pencil
Virgil Thomson
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Seventeen Portraits for piano: Mark Beard - Never Alone
Virgil Thomson
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Seventeen Portraits for piano: Louis Rispoli - In a Boat
Virgil Thomson
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Seventeen Portraits for piano: Malitte Matta - In the Executive Style
Virgil Thomson
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Seventeen Portraits for piano: Glynn Boyd Harte - Reaching
Virgil Thomson
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Seventeen Portraits for piano: Bennett Lerner - Senza Expressione
Virgil Thomson
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Seventeen Portraits for piano: Phillip Ramey - Thinking Hard
Virgil Thomson
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Seventeen Portraits for piano: Charles Fussell - In Meditation
Virgil Thomson
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Seventeen Portraits for piano: Brendan Lemon - A Study Piece for Piano
Virgil Thomson
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